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| South Africa's Garden Route |
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This is where I will retire one day. Somewhere a long the South Africa's Garden Route - my most favourite part of South Africa - maybe because of my roots. My mother was born and grew up in Mossel Bay ("Mussel" Bay), as a child we spent all our seaside holidays in this area and even now our family prefers to holiday along this stretch of the South African coast - even though it is a 12 hour car trip to get here from Johannesburg.The "Garden Route" refers to a stretch along the south coast of South Africa. The national road follows a scenic route along the southern coastline for a few hundred kilometres. To appreciate the area one must follow the old route because modern life and the need for speed have seen the advent of highways and toll roads in recent years so that the casual traveller misses a lot of the beauty. Take some time to travel the old roads. Not everyone agrees where the Garden Route begins or where it ends and I am not going to get involved in an argument on the subject. My personal preference is for the stretch from Mossel Bay to Storms River in the Tsitsikamma. This area is one of the popular holiday destinations in summer due to the numerous beautiful and safe swimming beaches in the area, the excellent fishing, both from the shore and deep sea, the camping and caravaning facilities and the hotel and resort accommodation available. To discuss the area in one article doesn't do it justice and in future articles I will discuss specific areas in more detail. For now I will introduce you and provide some links. Contact: The Regional Tourist Information Centre, 124 York St., George 6530 South Africa Tel: 27 441 73-6314 or 27 441 74-4000 Mossel Bay: Our first stop along the Garden Route is at Mossel Bay, a small harbour town (mainly fishing) and base of South Africa's offshore oil search. A beautiful old town overlooking the bay with Robeiland ("Seal Island" - not to be confused with Robben Island near Cape Town where Nelson Mandela was imprisoned) just off the coast. Mossel Bay's "development" started when Bartholomeu Dias, the Portuguese sea-farer sailed into the bay in 1488 and due to a fresh water spring near the beach it became a stopover and postal point for sea-farers. Today the Post Office Tree still exists although one now posts ones letter in a post box shaped like a 16th century sailor's boot. The Beaches: Where you swim would depend on the type of swimming you want:
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